Global power and automation technology group, ABB has provided $12m investment into tidal turbine systems developer Scotrenewables.
The investment was made through, ABB’s venture capital unit, ABB Technology Ventures to support Scotrenewables’ efforts to rollout of new hydrokinetic device.
ABB’s investment was part of a consortium that included Total New Energies and and the Norwegian maritime conglomerate Fred. Olsen; the investment also serves to expand ABB’s renewable energy assets.
ABB Technology Ventures senior vice president Grant Allen remarked that the company led a comprehensive review of tidal stream technology and concluded that Scotrenewables was well below its peers in capital outlay per megawatt and overall power delivery cost.
"Scotrenewables has designed a remarkably robust hydrokinetic unit which, by nature of its easily accessible floating design bypasses many of the maintenance issues that confront other marine startups," noted Allen.
Scotrenewables will employ the funding specifically to roll out a larger and more advanced tidal energy conversion system known as the SR2000.
The 2MW floating turbine will deliver simplicity, low mass, rapid connection/disconnection and heightened survivability and is scheduled for completion in 2014.